Let me first start with the official alumni newsletter I received earlier today.

Dear Alumni and Friends,

On Tuesday, March 23, an appearance by Ann Coulter was scheduled on our campus, organized by the International Free Press Society Canada and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute.
The University of Ottawa has always promoted and defended freedom of expression. For that reason, we did not at any time oppose Ann Coulter’s appearance. Whether it is Ann Coulter or any other speaker, diverse views have always been and continue to be welcome on our campus.

Last night, the organizers themselves decided at 7:50 p.m. to cancel the event and so informed the University’s Protection Services staff on site. At that time, a crowd of about one thousand people had peacefully gathered at Marion Hall.

“Freedom of expression is a core value that the University of Ottawa has always promoted,” said Allan Rock, President of the University. “We have a long history of hosting contentious and controversial speakers on our campus. Last night was no exception, as people gathered here to listen to and debate Ann Coulter’s opinions.

I encourage our students, faculty and other members of our community to maintain our University as an open forum for diverse opinions. Ours is a safe and democratic environment for the expression of views, and we will keep it that way.”

This to me clearly states that, at the least, Allan Rock is sorry for the behaviour of students and some faculty members last night. As the National Post has reported, Ann Coulter’s speech last night was canceled due to fears of violence. If this crowd was as peaceful as Mr. Rock claims, why was Ann’s safety at risk? If this truly was a peaceful demonstration, why did campus officials take such drastic action? It was partly because the University of Ottawa didn’t want to host her, and partly because there was a clear and identifiable threat to Ann Coulter.

As Michelle Malkin wrote yesterday, Ann Coulter stirs up controversy, and because of this, university officials wanted to prevent her from speaking. While the University of Ottawa doesn’t have a problem with Israeli Apartheid Week, a radical pro-Palestinian movement which demonstrates on campuses across North America to push its bigoted message, Ann Coulter is somehow too radical? As I stated above, the University of Ottawa didn’t want her to speak. While this point was made clear by University of Ottawa Vice-President Academic and Provost Francois Houle’s threatening email, let’s take some time to understand why this is. The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) invited Angela Davis to kick of Black History month on February 2nd as the keynote speaker.As I stated previously, the University of Carleton, which I am now attending to finish off a second degree in history, also invited this political radical to speak. I talked with one of the Carleton University Students’ Association members who was selling tickets to the event and he said that the purpose was to give students a chance to learn Davis’ political viewpoint (or lack thereof). While everyone is entitled to speak, in the case of Angela Davis, there should also be speakers of a contrary viewpoint. The SFUO didn’t invite Ann Coulter to the University of Ottawa simply because they, along with various faculty members, don’t wish for any viewpoint which contradicts that which they are setting out for naive young students. The narrative has been established and diverging from it is not acceptable. It wouldn’t surprise me if protests against Ann Coulter were somehow organized by the SFUO, especially considering that protesters, wearing keffiyehs, were wearing stickers from the Canadian Federation of Students.Blazing Cat Fur has a picture of the “No Islamophobia Anti-Semitism Racism” sticker for those who are curious.

At the University of Western Ontario, Ann made headlines for telling Fatima Al Dhaher to “take a camel”, something which raised eyebrows and got headlines. The story the media missed was that Fatima is a member of an anti-Israel/anti-Jewish hate group called “It’s Called Palestine Not Israel!”, something which Canadian blogger Blazing Cat Fur was able to dig up. As Blazing Cat Fur stated, since Fatima read this question from her Blackberry, one has to wonder whether or not she was under instruction from someone else to do it. This is where my second point comes in, that Ann was actually in danger. Aside from the “hundreds” of ignorant and ill-informed protesters who were determined to deny Ann her right to speak, various radical Muslim students were there to incite whatever they could, be it angry chanting or violent riots. It isn’t simply Concordia University that has these problems, I have personally dealt with these people myself on the University of Ottawa’s campus. During my second year, I was talking with one of these Muslim students during Islam Awareness Week. While the conversation started out fine, everything changed when this seemingly intelligent and well-spoken young man admitted that, if called upon, he would be willing to sacrifice himself for Islam. I am not ashamed to admit that this student, along with his friends terrified me. Does this mean that all Muslim students are like this? Of course not, but it is obvious that there is enough of them to pose a threat to defiant speakers like Ann, as well as students who attend these speeches. All it takes is one of these students to cross the line and a somewhat violence-free protest turns into an all out riot. Once again, we have seen this behaviour on other campuses, so don’t think it couldn’t happen at “Canada’s University”. That is the point isn’t it? To use the threat of violence to suppress free speech? I doubt a radical like Fatima would have a problem using violence to achieve her group’s ideological goals.

In conclusion, I would like to say two things. Firstly, that as an alumni of the University of Ottawa I am ashamed at what I occurred. As my History of Modern China Professor Jacob Kovalio, said, “to borrow the words of the protesters, ‘Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Free Speech has got to go.'” I can tell you that his outrage with the lack of respect for freedom of speech in Canada is felt by myself and many others who viewed this entire fiasco as a national embarrassment. If I was in Allan Rock’s position, Francois Houle would be fired. His conduct is by far the most disgraceful of all participants involved in preventing last night’s speech. Matter of fact, as an alumni, I would recommend prospective students look elsewhere for their education until the University of Ottawa terminates Houle, let alone guarantees the rights of students and visiting speakers to voice their opinions openly. Secondly, I would like to apologize to Ann Coulter for the treatment she has received thus far in Canada. Most Canadians are downright embarrassed by what these radicals have done, and we do not condone this kind of behaviour in Canada. We are a country founded on freedoms, contrary to what some would believe, and if we cannot guarantee the freedoms of foreign guests, then we aren’t the people I believe us to be. This is truly a learning experience not simply for the University of Ottawa, but for all of Canada.

The instant we let fringe radicals determine what can and can’t be said within our borders, we cease being the “true north strong and free”. Why bother singing our national anthem if it is meaningless? Disgraceful…

UPDATE: Fox News’ Megyn Kelly interviewed Susan G. Cole, a columnist for NOW Toronto. Suffice to say, Susan doesn’t live in the Canada I know and love. I don’t think she even lives on the same planet. Freedom of speech is not part of our political culture? A pathetic political radical…

I will continue to update this post as this fiasco continues to unfold… Pathetic…

UPDATE:Blazing Cat Fur has a new post up, quotes from Ezra Levant, the organizer behind Ann Coulter’s speech tour, as well as a quote from the best selling author herself. Give it a look!

UPDATE: I have received an update from one commenter that the girl in the picture is actually named Ellena Orcan. According to Free Ann Coulter!, she is a former model and political radical who was at the event at the University of Ottawa. I have been informed by the commenter that Stephanie Bowa, the girl who was mistaken for Ellena, has received hate mail. THAT STOPS NOW!

The only mistake Stephanie Bowa made was that she joined a radical Facebook group. Sure Stephanie doesn’t believe Ann Coulter should speak at the Canadian universities, and while I will gladly debate her on that belief, she has not shown herself to be the political radical/bigot that Ellena is. I might send an email off to someone I think deserves a good talking to, but I never cross legal lines to push a point. That is what political ideologues like Francois Houle do. I would like to believe my readers aren’t the kind of people who would resort to threats.

Let’s try to remain civil. This whole fiasco has been embarrassing to the University of Ottawa students and alumni, as well as millions of Canadians, but that doesn’t mean we start attacking those who’s only offense has been subscribing to a “bass ackwards” Facebook group… Pathetic…

We are deeply disturbed by your correspondence with Ann Coulter regarding her speaking engagement at the University of Ottawa tomorrow. Your admonishing her about speech rights in Canada raises serious questions about the University of Ottawa’s respect for freedom of expression and academic freedom.

The purpose of a university is aptly captured in the University of Toronto’s statement on the “Purpose of the University”:

Within the unique university context, the most crucial of all human rights are the rights of freedom of speech, academic freedom, and freedom of research. And we affirm that these rights are meaningless unless they entail the right to raise deeply disturbing questions and provocative challenges to the cherished beliefs of society at large and of the university itself.

Ms. Coulter certainly does raise disturbing questions and provocative challenges. While many of us profoundly disagree with her, a university should welcome controversial speakers and vigorous debate, not seek to restrict discourse or speakers.

We feel you owe an apology to Ms. Coulter and, even more importantly, you owe the University of Ottawa community an assurance that the administration of the University strongly supports freedom of expression, academic freedom and views the role of the university as fostering and defending these values.

CNN’s Rick Sanchez had the former adviser to Palestinian terrorist leaderYasser Arafat on to discuss the supposed danger posed to U.S. troops by Israel. Israeli forces are not going to be engaging any Western nation troops in combat, but, according to the former adviser to a terrorist leader (let’s not forget the source of this claim), support for Israeli actions, whatever they are, will make the United States and their allies targets, most notably these nations’ troops who are deployed in the Middle East. Being in harms way, the troops are already in danger, and recognizing that Islamic radicals don’t need any excuse to attack infidels, this claim is whole incorrect and downright anti-semitic. In continuing with this anti-Israel segment, CNN displayed anti-Israeli and anti-semitic twitter comments. What does “Israel is greedy” and “Jewish lobby runs America” have to do with the expansion of Jewish settlements? CNN should have known that the bigots would be spurred on by Rick Sanchez’s segment with this former adviser to a terrorist leader and cut the twitter feed, that is what a responsible news network would have done.

UPDATE:Zaid Jilani at Think Progress has an post about this mess, and it is nothing but nonsense. “America’s relationship with Israel is important, but not as important as the lives of America’s soldiers”? Excuse me, but is Jilani suggesting that the United States simply leave the Jewish state to the mercy of their enemies? Is this the “progress” these “progressives” are pushing for? It certainly appears that way. I don’t care if General David Petraeus believes that Israel is a threat to the American presence in the region (which I have trouble accepting, especially considering the source), it is nonsense, especially when Israel is attacked for being the “American presence in the region” (part of the idiotic American empire argument).

As Peter Wehner at CommentaryMagazine.com stated, this is about the refusal of the Palestinian leaders to except the existence of Israel. Everyone is quick to forget that done everything and more to sue for peace with these radicals, including giving up the West Bank and Gaza and allowing the Palestinian population to govern themselves (and once again, in response they elect Hamas and continue with their violent campaign). It is more than simply a matter of the Jewish state, however, it is a microcosm of possible future relations between the West and the Muslim world. As seen with the Jewish example, appeasement won’t work and peace is very much temporary. Returning to Lorne Gunter’s statement, if Israel can’t survive amidst this pressure, what hope do the rest of us have? After all, as the Lebanese will tell you, “after Saturday comes Sunday” right?

Let’s remember that next time someones wants to criticize Israel. I don’t see any reason to give these anti-semites justification for their bigotry, especially when they will look for any reason to take to the streets against the Jewish state… And you can’t blame the Jews for that… Pathetic…

As of now, I am unable to reply to an offensive comment made by user Canuck1979 at the National Post’s website. I was commenting on a story, Toronto language diversity offers glimpse of Canada’s future, written by Peter Kuitenbrouwer, when myself and other like-minded Canadians were accused of being “bigoted and racist”, and that voicing our concerned somehow means we are not being accepting of people of different ethnic backgrounds. For anyone who hasn’t read my blog before, it have never been about skin colour. My problem has to do with political and religious beliefs which demand that Canada reshape itself to meet the needs of an intolerant few. Why should Canada forget its culture and be forced to adopt something else? In response to Canuck1979’s ignorance, I wanted to say this…

This isn’t about race, it is about political and religious beliefs which undermine our country. Don’t you dare accuse us of being bigoted or racist, especially when our concerns are not about “yellow, brown and black” skin colours, but the desire of immigrants to reshape our country to fit their pervert desires instead of assimilating and becoming part of Canada. You speak about tolerance and acceptance, but when our own national anthem can’t be sung in schools because of the lack of respect these immigrants have for our beliefs, don’t you dare accuse myself and other Canadians of being intolerant. What colour is the sky in your world?

Early Canada was made up of many races, including a slew of European nationalities (or have you forgotten), and because they worked together to build this country, they earned citizenship. You are demanding that out of some deranged belief in total “acceptance and tolerance” we not only give citizenship to any who ask it, but allow these parasites to dictates how the rest of us should live. There is nothing “tolerant” about letting Muslims undermine our system by allowing them to set up Sharia courts, there is nothing tolerant about removing Christmas and Jesus Christ from our society, especially when this tolerant society was founded upon Judeo-Christian teachings (something you like to forget about), and there is nothing tolerant about demanding the majority of Canadian adapt to meet and fund the needs of a few intolerant people who refuse to even speak one of our two national languages.

Next time you want to open your mouth and accuse us of being intolerant, you better bring more to discuss then this ridiculous idea about how “we’re all immigrants”, especially when Canada, its laws and culture, exist because of Christian Europeans who settled and shaped this land into the tolerant and accepting country it is today. My family has fought for this country for generations, from the American Revolution through to the Second World War and beyond, don’t you DARE tell me and others like me that I don’t have a say because my ancestors two to three hundred years ago were born in Europe before settling here. By your perverse logic, even the First Nations are immigrants as their ancestors migrated her from South/South-East Asia. Do you even think before opening your mouth?

I have no problem with immigrants who come to this country to be contributing members of our society, but I do have a problem with those who wish you undermine what Canada stands for. To those immigrants who demand we shape our country, spend our tax dollars to meet their needs, I say “THERE’S THE DOOR, DON’T LET IT HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT!” Pathetic…

As with Erik Millett, people like Canuck1979 believe that Canada should somehow reshape itself to meet the wants of a few intolerant immigrants. As I stated in my comment, it isn’t about race, but perverted beliefs that undermine our national identity. Why would people bother living in a country that has dedicated itself to appeasing radical elements that not only don’t want to be part of our great nation, but wish to transform Canada into something entirely foreign from what it is today? Contrary to the popular “salad bowl” fantasy, the nonsensical “cultural mosaic” bullshit that is force fed to students in our schools, Canada is a “melting pot”. We are tolerant of other cultures and religious beliefs, even celebrating them alongside our own, but that doesn’t mean that we are somehow “better” than countries like than other Western countries that freely admit to wanting to protect their own national identity. Let’s stop pretending that Canada is somehow different and more “accepting and tolerant” than other nations by demanding we forget what makes Canadians who we are.

As for this nonsense about the First Nations being “true Canadians”, let’s not forget that too many of them refuse to call themselves such while demanding we subsidize their way of life. Is that what Canuck1979 and others think we should do? Section off our country for ethnic/religious groups that do not wish to assimilate? That is called segregation, and such nonsense only leads to ghettoization. I would rather have a united Canada, one with people of many races working together, than a country “separate but equal” where they only thing shared is intolerance and poverty…

Labeling concerned and patriotic Canadians as bigots and racists is downright pathetic, and such nonsense should not be tolerated, let alone celebrated in this great country of ours… Disgusting…

As I have stated before, Attorney General Eric Holder has to go. We can talk about the corruption within this administration, highlight every misstep made by this government, but their sin pales in comparison to what Holder and his supporters are looking at achieving. Legislation can be slowed down, if not stopped entirely, but precedent set by court rulings are nearly impossible to overturn. Does it surprise anyone that so many of these political radicals have been found within the Department of Justice? Byron York has written about this conflict of interests, but very few in Washington are willing to discuss this. Who is the Eric Holder and his supporters working for, the American people or their former clients? To many, including myself, it seems to be the latter.

As Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey stated, Obama has humiliated Holder with this recommendation. Does this mean that the President is going to give up his desire to have these terrorists tried in criminal courts? Unlikely, but at least for now Barack has been forced to quickly retreat from what has become a very unpopular policy. While Holder is left to take the blame for this mess, it is hard to say if he will be replaced. Matter of fact, Holder might play a part in Obama’s continued push to close down Guantanamo Bay. Andy McCarthy from the National Review Online reported earlier today that this was a “head fake”, a gesture by this administration to seem tougher of terrorism while quietly pushing for more support to close down the controversial detention center. Michelle Malkin blogs that the Obama administration, while recommending a military tribunal for these 9/11 plotters, is still looking at criminal trials for other detainees in Illinois. Even if Holder is forced to step down as Attorney General, he will be given another position within this administration.

In the end, this is a minor victory. Eric Holder has been humbled, but he still remains a threat. Until Holder is cast out for abusing his position, his efforts to undermine the American legal system will continue. It is more than a conflict of interests, it is a betrayal of the trust placed in the Department of Justice by the American people… Disgusting…

UPDATE: I forgot to mention a few points raised by Ed Morrissey’s most recent post on this subject. As Ed stated, there really isn’t any evidence to suggest that this “minor victory”, as I have called it, is due to the efforts of those like Senator Lindsey Graham. Sure Graham has been critical of Guantanamo Bay since the previous administration, but this change in position seems more likely the result of Obama’s inability to get the criminal trials in New York City for Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters. While Andy McCarthy is calling this a possible major win for the White House if it helps them move towards closing down the controversial detention center, I disagree. Republicans and other critics of this administration can use this change in policy to point out the lack in dedication of the Obama administration’s to national security. While Holder might take the fall for this fiasco, Obama will be blamed for supporting a this nonsense, as he was the one who was willing to sacrifice public safety for political points. From his desire to close down Guantanamo Bay, to his plans to move detainees to a facility in Illinois, Barack won’t be able to escape the political fallout from this, even with his Attorney General beneath his bus’ tires… Pathetic…

When Hot Air’s Allahpundit posted this video from Funny or Die, Will Ferrell’s nonsensical political humour website, I have to say I was quite upset. Not only was this Ron Howard directed fiasco a poorly hidden political advertisement about how ObamaCare is going to fix the errors caused by previous administrations (really? I thought Democrats loved to brag about how great things were under Bill Clinton), but it uses and abuses the likes of Dan Aykroyd and Jim Carrey, both Canadian actors, to push this nonsense is just appalling. This is almost as upsetting as that political advertisement Howard did for Barack Obama during the presidential campaign, getting the likes of Andy Griffith spew idiotic talking points about “hope and change”. Griffith looked like he was rather frail and confused and the whole thing left a disgusting taste in my mouth. This has come to be expected from Hollywood types who have decided to join the political discussion without a clue about America’s political history or the state of the country. If Ferrell and Howard have decided that their “bass ackwards” approach is the way to “educate” (and I use that term loosely) Americans about their perverted view on the healthcare debate, why don’t they address the corruption and abuse of power by the Obama administration to get its way on ObamaCare?

It was revealed last night that Scott Matheson would be nominated to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Why is this important? Well Scott just happens to be the brother of Congressman Jim Matheson of Utah, one of the Democrats which voted no previously on ObamaCare. It isn’t a coincidence that the White House would make such an announcement about Jim’s brother, especially when they had invited him and the other Democrat holdouts to a dinner at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to get them to change their minds. It is a very brazen political move, but also one that seems to embody the kind of corruption found within this administration. Michelle Malkin has reported on this, as well as Hot Air’s Allahpundit,Ed Morrissey, and a slew of other bloggers. For more on this story, I recommend my modest readership turn to them.

This breaking scandal highlights not only what is wrong with those in government but also what is wrong with the tone of politics right now. As Dan Gerstein at Forbes.com put it, Democrats are deaf to America. This isn’t about reverse psychology, those in power don’t seem to understand nor do they care that the majority of Americans don’t want this health care overhaul. No matter what Obama and his supporters try, whether it is demonizing the Tea Party protesters, attacking politicians which have voiced opposition to this gargantuan piece of legislation, or Hollywood’s attempts at “re-educating” voters on this issue, they don’t seem to understand how unwanted these changes are. As I stated the other day, this administration attacks those who voice differing views, but this is far more than what we have seen before. This outdoes whatever former President Richard Nixon did, especially when you have the mainstream media, the entertainment industry and the White House, through a variety of groups like Organizing for America villainizing their “enemies”. Just flip through the list of radio shows they have targeted with their new campaign, it isn’t a “enemies list”, it is an “enemies database”. Why don’t we see Will Ferrell and company addressing this?

You won’t hear any criticism of this from his supporters in Hollywood though. Oh no, they would rather produce and star in films that demonstrate just how out of touch they are with reality while pretending they care about the country and the people who have given them this life of luxury… Pathetic…

let’s start a coffee party . . . smoothie party. red bull party. anything but tea. geez. ooh how about cappuccino party? that would really piss ‘em off bec it sounds elitist . . . let’s get together and drink cappuccino and have real political dialogue with substance and compassion.

As commenter Anonymous66 said, “When people start talking about putting ‘compassion’ into politics, hold onto your wallet!” There is something definitely dishonest about this whole movement, but it is more than that. Being a documentary film maker, Park probably doesn’t have the brain power to understand the significance of the Boston Tea Party, and why those protesting this administration are paying homage to it. This isn’t about their favourite drink, it is a political statement, so this idiot gets everything wrong right from the start. Don’t let that stop the Coffee Party supporters from continuing their ignorance of the Tea Party protesters,

The political mood right now is ‘blame Obama for everything.’ The Tea Party is overexposed but organized, and they have a poster child in Sarah Palin and Fox News. I’m extremely anti-establishment, and the thing that appealed to me about the Coffee Party is it is very grass-roots, there’s no official organization, and individuals can participate as individuals without having to see eye-to-eye on everything…

The New York Times might be promoting this nonsense, but it is far from the grassroots movement that the “Gray Lady” and others would like you to believe it is. As William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection has said, the Coffee Party is a political parasite, but not only this. Annabel Park herself is a avid supporter of President Barack Obama, and this action is very much in support of the nonsense in Washington. The Boston Tea Party was a political statement by the people of the colonies that they wouldn’t stand for British mistreatment of them. The Tea Parties now are doing the same thing, protesting against what they see as mistreatment by their government. This Coffee Party stands in direct opposition to this new movement but also American history, as no political movement in the United States has ever stood for the political oppression of the citizenry by the government. It is very unpatriotic and very stupid…

Once again, what do you expect from a documentary film maker? She should return to sipping espressos and filming nonsense instead of trying to enter the political arena “bass ackwards”… Pathetic…

UPDATE:Lee Doren at HowTheWorldWorks attended the Coffee Party meeting at Potter’s Coffee House. Suffice to say, it turned out to be just what many people expected it to be, a therapy session for Obama supporters… Pathetic…

Hmmm … so the rumors that I heard beforehand that this was just a disguised group pimping for liberal causes or the Democratic party were … they were … bogus. Solidly bogus…

…America stands at a crossroads. We are always arriving at some crossroad but the issues today are huge and imminently in front of us. The outcome will directly affect our children and grandchildren, leaving them incredible debt. We owe trillions to foreign countries and investors (and to Americans, too) — almost $2 trillion is due in October 2010 to pay back money borrowed in the early 2000s.

We have major healthcare issues that are at an impasse; our system is one of the best medicine that people can buy. Yet we rank just ahead of Cuba in the general health of our population. Obamacare to me is an abomination that will bankrupt the country and yet the alternative is “personal responsibility” — even though healthcare insurers are a monopolistic industry and some recently announced hikes of 25-36% in annual premiums…

Give the rest a read, it’s the nonsensical Democratic talking points verbatim. I wonder if weren’t drinking “Kool-Aid” instead of coffee and this therapy session… Pathetic…